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A 51-year-old Garden Grove man was arrested in Orange County for playing tennis in an Irvine park. According to an NBC Los Angeles news report, the man was arrested at Citrus Glen Park in Irvine. Officials say the man is prohibited from entering any park or recreational facility as a registered sex offender. Irvine is one of only 13 cities in Orange County that passed an ordinance which prohibits convicted sex offenders from entering a city park without prior police permission. He has been registered since 1996 when he was convicted for misdemeanor child annoyance in Cypress. He is currently on probation for an indecent exposure conviction in Garden Grove earlier this year.

Irvine’s ordinance went into effect in July 2011. The county ban created child safety zones at county parks and harbors. Anyone registered as a sex offender can only enter these areas after applying for and receiving written permission from the county.
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Assemblyman Roger Hernandez of West Covina has been found not guilty of drunk driving. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, five months after his DUI arrest in Concord, a Contra Costa County jury found Hernandez to be not guilty of the DUI charge. Officials pulled him over during the early morning hours of March 27 after seeing his state car weaving between lanes. His vehicle allegedly smelled of alcohol and he had bloodshot eyes. His defense team argued that his tests were mishandled. He still faces a second count of driving with an illegal blood alcohol level of .08 percent. A decision on that charge is expected to be made later this month.

Many people make the mistake of not fighting DUI charges because they assume there is no point. This case points to the importance of discussing your case with a skilled DUI defense attorney as it is sometimes possible to have the DUI charges reduced for the case or entirely dismissed.
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Jaycee Dugard was forced to live in Phillip Garrido’s backyard for 18 years. According to an ABC News report, the failure by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to find Dugard at a convicted sex offender’s residence has led to changes in the parole system. Many of these changes will result in a considerable loss of rights for individuals convicted of a sex crime.

The CDCR will now conduct polygraph testing and face-to-face evaluations to determine if a convicted sex offender is a low or high risk. The CDCR will also provide full time GPS tracking for all sex offenders regardless of their threat level. Malfunctioning GPS monitors will no longer result in email alerts. Instead, there will be round the clock monitoring that can act fast to determine why the GPS is malfunctioning. There will also be increased efforts to provide drug tests and mental health therapy.
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Famous chef and television personality Cat Cora has struck a plea deal with prosecutors after driving with a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. According to a news report in TMZ, Food Network star Cat Cora has struck a deal after being arrested on June 17, 2012 in Santa Barbara. Officials say she admitted to drinking three beers before blowing a .19 on a Breathalyzer, which is more than twice the legal limit in California. Cora’s deal allows her to avoid jail time. By pleading “no contest” she accepted three years of probation, nine months of DUI School, and $2,386 in fines. She also accepted a 120 day suspended jail sentence, but she will not have to spend a day behind bars as long as she fulfills her DUI school and probation obligations.

Individuals who have been drinking are more apt to make a poor judgment regarding whether it is safe to drive or not. In California, drivers are over the limit when their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is .08 percent or higher. Everyone is different, but it typically takes between three and five drinks for a driver to be considered over the legal limit. Drivers who have had between five and eight drinks will likely have a BAC of .1, and drinking more than ten drinks could result in a BAC that is twice the legal limit.
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Los Angeles County law enforcement officials have announced a massive campaign to crack down on drunk driving. According to a news report in The Pasadena Star News, the “Avoid the 100 Task Force” campaign will be in effect for 17 days starting now through the Labor Day weekend. The increased law enforcement will include extra patrols and checkpoints, and the DUI crackdown will cover all of Los Angeles County. For example, in the San Gabriel Valley area, checkpoints will be set up in Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena, Norwalk, West Covina, and numerous other locations.

dui-9167018Small.jpgThese types of crackdowns often result in an increased number of California drunk driving arrests. Drunk driving convictions in California can result in a number of penalties including fines, lengthy license suspensions, and jail time.

First-time offenders will likely face a fine ranging between $390 and $1,000 as well as a license suspension of four months. Some first-time offenders will also have to spend between four days and six months behind bars, have mandatory attendance at a DUI school, and possible community service.
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Joe Simpson, the father of singer Jessica Simpson, faces two counts of drunk driving after he was arrested at a DUI checkpoint. According to a news report in The Associated Press, Simpson was arrested at a DUI checkpoint in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles County. Officials say he registered a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 percent. He faces a maximum sentence of six months in jail, 36 months of probation, and a $1,000 fine.

As local police agencies continue to crack down on drunk driving, Los Angeles DUI checkpoints will remain a popular tool utilized to catch those who are driving under the influence. When a driver is arrested for drunken driving at a checkpoint, it may be possible to fight the charges particularly if the officers failed to follow proper procedures. In most cases, officers at checkpoints do not have an opportunity to observe dangerous driving behavior and can therefore not prove that the person’s driving ability was impaired.
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A 39-year-old Baldwin Park man was arrested for drunk driving after being involved in a fatal Los Angeles County car accident that resulted in two fatalities. According to a CBS Los Angeles news report, the fatal accident occurred on the 60 Freeway east of Atlantic Boulevard in Monterey Park. California Highway Patrol officials say a Ford pickup truck rear-ended a disabled Honda. A 34-year-old man and a 31-year-old passenger in the Honda were killed. The driver of the truck was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

Under California Vehicle Code Section 23152 (a): “It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.” When a driver who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol causes a fatal crash, he or she can be charged with gross vehicular manslaughter as well. If it is determined that the driver was intoxicated or behaving reckless, he or she could face a second-degree murder charge. If the driver has had prior DUI convictions, then he or she could face a murder charge.
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Two Los Angeles police officers face perjury charges after allegedly lying about a DUI arrest. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, the officers were charged at the downtown criminal courthouse in Los Angeles. The two officers, ages 39 and 56, face charges stemming from an incident that occurred on September 4, 2010. One officer stated in a report that he made a traffic stop after watching a motorist disregard two stop signs. Two years later, officials say that the officer did not even arrive to the scene until 15 minutes after the traffic stop and that the other officer lied at a hearing about observing the incident. The veteran officers face up to four years and eight months in prison for perjury.

According to California Penal Code 118: “Every person who, having taken an oath that he or she will testify, declare, depose, or certify truly before any competent tribunal, officer, or person, in any of the cases in which the oath may by law of the State of California be administered, willfully and contrary to the oath, states as true any material matter which he or she knows to be false,” is guilty of perjury.

This report is an illustration of the lengths to which officers may sometimes go to prove a criminal case. A DUI conviction, particularly, could have serious consequences for defendants who are wrongfully charged. An individual convicted of a DUI could face consequences including jail time, DUI fines, mandatory alcohol education program, and court fees.

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Los Angeles Law Enforcement LawsuitAccording to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, a lawsuit filed by legal scholars and civil rights attorneys alleges that Los Angeles County prosecutors and Sheriff’s officials have concealed both complaints about law enforcement misconduct and important evidence from defendants in criminal cases. The lawsuit cites several specific cases in which authorities purportedly failed to disclose information about misconduct complaints “filed by inmates against deputies who were to be witnesses in criminal cases,” and alleges that similar evidence may have been kept hidden in potentially thousands of cases.

In addition to the lawsuit, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Southern California submitted a state bar complaint against the county district attorney calling for a civil grand jury investigation. The complaint also calls for an independent counsel to review cases that have resulted in convictions since “controversial policies” have been enacted. The lawsuit claims to go to the heart of the legal duty prosecutors have to ensure defendants receive a fair trial by disclosing information that is beneficial to the defense.

The district attorney’s office and the Sheriff’s Department have denied the allegations, stating that the lawsuit mischaracterizes how they decide what evidence is turned over. The Los Angeles County District Attorney claimed in an official statement that the lawsuit is an obvious “attempt to mislead the public and the court,” adding that he is confident that the policies of the office comply with the highest constitutional and legal standards.

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Five people have been arrested for manufacturing and distributing PCP in Los Angeles. According to an NBC Los Angeles news report, the arrests occurred after a raid on two South Los Angeles homes and two storage facilities. A July 20, 2012 CBS Los Angeles news report states that a federal grand jury returned a 13-count indictment of two men, aged 56 and 41, and one woman, 32, all of Los Angeles, and a 59-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman from New York. The 56-year-old Los Angeles man was specifically charged with obtaining the chemicals and manufacturing the PCP.

After utilizing a source in New York, DEA agents seized over 60 gallons of finished PCP and hundreds of gallons of highly toxic chemicals that are used to make PCP. Officials report the chemicals could have been used to manufacture another 1,200 gallons of PCP. A single gallon contains 74,000 doses of the drug. The five suspects are in custody in Los Angeles. They all face potential life sentences.

Phencyclidine is a dangerous drug commonly referred to as PCP or angel dust. It is a Schedule II drug because of the high potential for abuse. It can be a misdemeanor or a felony to possess PCP, which is punishable by either one year or as many as three years in jail. Possession with “intent to sell” charges have even more severe consequences. Possessing or purchasing PCP for sale is a felony, which is punishable by three, four, or five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. If the weight of the PCP exceeds one kilogram or 2.2 pounds, the defendant could face an additional three to 15 years.

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